Sunday, December 27, 2009

Flowers in full bloom in Taipei spread message of beauty and love

By Nancy T. Lu
Let the flowers of every imaginable color at the “Fantasy Garden” at the Daan Forest Park in Taipei take your breath away.

Take a leisurely stroll in the heart of the city. Find a seat on a park bench when your feet get weary. But let your eyes continue to roam and feast on the colors and shapes before you.

Whether clustering, growing like buttons, shooting up in sprays, drooping shyly or growing like a cabbage patch, they are a sight to behold.

The 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition is still many months away. But already, Taipei blooms to warm the hearts of residents and visitors alike. Clusters of seldom seen flowers have been planted overnight to excite the young and the old alike.

Reach out and touch them. A surprising feel of the petals waits at every turn.

The cute mascot of the Taipei International Flora Expo beckons in different colors at the open-air auditorium area. Pedal-pushing frogs and fluttering butterflies get into an act not to be missed on a beautiful day at the landscaped park. This is a sneak preview and a dramatic prelude to the expo coming up in November near the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

Stop for a souvenir picture. And why not? The once-a-year flower show at the Daan Forest Park conveys a heartwarming message of beauty and love.

And if you are trained in horticulture or are simply blessed with a green thumb, you can even try to buy and bring home flowering plants of your fancy.